Lakers' Nick Young officially declares his season finished

Written By kolimtiga on Senin, 06 April 2015 | 12.56

Nick Young declared his season officially done Sunday because of a nagging knee injury, a fitting end to a forgettable six months for the loquacious but often off-target Lakers forward.

He was ineffective on the court and somewhat erratic off it, averaging only 13.4 points and shooting a career-worst 36.6% while engaging in fights on the Internet with various public figures.

Young, 29, was in the first season of a four-year contract worth $21.5 million and started the season the same way he ended it — injured.

He was sidelined the team's first 10 games because of a torn thumb ligament and ended up sitting out the final 28 because of a small fracture on his left kneecap that would eventually heal on its own.

"This is just how my whole year's been," Young said dejectedly Sunday.

Lately, he was more active with his smartphone than the team.

He had heard enough about his girlfriend's alleged lack of musical ability last month, so he lashed out at an ESPN anchor who criticized her talent. Young didn't appreciate Robert Flores saying Iggy Azalea was "trying to kill hip-hop."

Young came close to threatening the anchor by saying on Twitter, "I'm pretty sure we going to run into each other soon," in a series of tweets that were eventually deleted.

Earlier this season, Young sent some annoyed tweets toward Snoop Dogg after the rapper poked fun at Azalea's looks without makeup. Young rushed to Azalea's side on Twitter by saying, "Ain't nobody worried about no SnoopLion," a reference to another name used by the rapper.

In a touch of symbolism, Young was chastised in his final game by Lakers Coach Byron Scott and also Kobe Bryant for being part of an exuberant celebration after an overtime victory against Boston in February. The victory improved the Lakers' record to 14-41.

"Either you are having a good year or you're not. He's not having a good year," Scott said of Young last month. "Hasn't shot the ball well and I think he's probably the first to admit this hasn't been the type of year that he expected."

Young got off to a great start when he returned from his thumb injury in November, scoring 17 points in an unexpected victory in Atlanta and proclaiming himself the top outside shooter of all time.

Perhaps Scott said it best last month.

"I know Nick thinks he's up there with Larry Bird and Reggie Miller and all these guys from a shooting standpoint, but you look at their field-goal percentage and you look at his, he's not there."